Sacred 2 Comments by Dan Pearson

Okay then. Not my type of game anyway.

Hmmm.....might get it if it starts going cheap.

Had Ascaron reigned in the content a little, and polished a smaller game to a higher standard, the score below would have been at least a couple of marks higher.

Yes. Sacred 2 (the PC version) is quantity over quality, unfortunately. Love the genre, but S2 failed to really grab me.


As for doing all the sidequests, though - you shouldn't. You'll level far beyond an area's requirements if you do this. The tons of sidequests are so that you can do different ones (although they all reappear, of course) on the next playthrough on a then unlocked difficulty level. If the mobs in an area have a green circle around them, it's high time to move on.

addictive game.

I believe there is an xbox patch due that fixes some of the bugs, not that that should effect the review score, I think Sacred 2 is a 7 for most people but for us loot whores it's a must have till D3 gets here.

Shame, these types of games are far to sparse on the consoles. But this seems a bit to rough around the edges even for me.

Totally my type of game.

a samurai rat robot hmmm... interesting

A version comparison would be nice EG I have seen in play.com that there are some Special Features that are different between them

''The PlayStation 3 version supports drop-in/drop-out multiplayer gaming for up to four players via internet, and two player full-screen gaming on one console
Multiplayer modes include co-op campaign and PVP
The controls and interface have been developed from scratch for the PlayStation 3 version to ensure fluid and intuitive PS3 gameplay throughout differences between versions''

IGN also says that PS3 version has the prettiest version so would love to know all the differences explained.

This comes as no big surprise.

@fjharps - Both versions are identical pretty much. The developers are quoted saying they use the exact same resources and textures etc, and in some areas the PS3 version comes out smoother, in others the 360 version - so really theres pretty much nothing in it. In terms of features they both include the exact same, apart from the PS3 version doesn't offer the ability to have 2 players on the same console playing online coop with 2 other players.

Just had a 4 hour session of online coop with my friend last night (now discovered 2% of the world map...). Absolutely awesome, this is one of the most fun games we've both played in a long while. The world is absolutely huge, theres so much to do. Granted the isometric hack'n'slash genre is a very niche one, but if you've enjoyed anything like Diablo, Titan Quest or Sacred 1 then this is a no brainer. They've done a really good job of converting the interface over to the gamepad. Can be a slight fiddle at first but once you get the hang of it you'l have no problems. Visually the game looks super pretty, its not graphically going to blow you away on a technical stand point but the colours, variety of armour and effects look really nice.

Wait, so is this out then or did they get a review copy? not out till the 5th I thought...

@miiiguel

I know. You should definently buy it.

Bionic Commando is more my kind of game i believe. Bought it last week.

this reads like an ed zitron review

So... what's the coop like? I've pre-ordered this because my missus likes this kinda stuff (BG on the original Xbox for example).

Does local coop work ok? Is it rubbish? Is it non-existant because it's not mentioned in the review?!

Can anyone else shed any light on this?

@Coughthulu: Keep in mind that Ascaron is in administration, so don't expect any bugs to be fixed...

@ Coughthulu: no shit..., I wonder why chicks dig BG so much ? Mine also loved BG1 and 2 on the original Xbox.

"Does local coop work ok?"

From other reviews thats one of the highpoints.

"Sacred 2 turns out to be a great couch game, largely because you can play co-op with a friend at your side" 1UP.

Didn't see ant details on the co-op mentioned in that review, which seems a very strange omission for a review of a game in a genre that usually works a lot better with company (hell, even Diablo 1 had co-op).

I guess I'll have to hunt around for a more useful review, although in general it doesn't sound like it's any real improvement over the dodgy PC version. :(

ha, I saw this as the top story with the headline buggin out. I lol'd thinking about how buggy sacred 1 was... as soon as I clicked the link firefox crashed on me... well that shut me up

@Eldritch:
Crikey, that must have completely passed me by, don't remember hearing about that. :-/

@miiiguel:
Strange, isn't it? I mean, I thought BG1/2 were passable, but she totally loved them. That and beat-em-ups, where she usually wipes the floor with me.

@muscleblade:
Aha, excellent! Thank you, kind Sir. I shall go and read the 1UP review. :)

@lucifon: thanks for clearing that up.

Don't know with this one though it's released the same day as Star Ocean on the 360 and being a massive rpg fan don't know which one to get.

@Coughthulu: You can play BGDA and BGDA2 on Xbox 360 via the emulator. :D

Oh, and my sis-in-law is also REALLY into that sort of game, and she's playing Sacred 2 with my bro in co-op on the PC.

Am I the only one who thinks the "Scared 2" typo in the last bit was a bit unfortunate?

On the PC version I dropped it quickly tbh since it becomes obvious quite quickly that you have to like the feel and system. A mate of mine happens to do and still plays it.

ROFL @ "Done my doody"

"@Coughthulu: Keep in mind that Ascaron is in administration, so don't expect any bugs to be fixed... "

"Hi,


Right now there really is not much news to give. We made the patch and send it to the publishers and microsoft. And as soon as they are done with the testing, the publishers decide when it will be online. If nothing unexpected comes up, I expected this to happen very soon now. But right now I don't have any update on this yet. Sorry."

http://forum.teamxbox.com/showthread.php...

;)

Been playing this with my wife. It's almost like Baldur's gate on the PS2/XBOX1, but it's huge, absolutely brilliantely huge in a no-loading gameworld. The stats are a bit wild though, and going to the store is quite non-transparent. But look through the bugs and there is a shining jewel.

Sit on the couch with a friend or girlfriend, and drink beers...

Cheap through Play-Asia too....

Local coop is fine as long as you don't mind losing your character in a game save corruption - after 17 hours of game play the g/f is not a happy bunny!!! You also cant trade items between characters, which is a pain - I'd been able to pick up and accumulate 34 shruken heads that my character couldn't use but the g/f's Dryad could, for some reason she hadn't been able to pick up a single one! Won't be revisiting this until it's patched now...

Game save corruption is the worst thing in gaming. Happened to me in VF5 on 360.

Yup, well annoying, especially after so many hours... oh well, we were really enjoying it up until that point, bugs and all!

Better than that awful Two Worlds then.

@Cannibal: Actually, getting a Minotaur cattle prod up your arse is better than Two Worlds, mate.

"But it does feel like time we graduated from the T ‘n' A school of fantasy."

I couldn't disagree more - the genre is called fantasy after all :). Chain mail bikinis and leather "bondage gear" (alright, also large swords and explosive fireballs and brutal and bloody combat if we're talking about something like Conan or Steven Erikson's fantasy series The Malazan Book of the Fallen) are the only things keeping me from dumping fantasy games, movies and novels in favor of science fiction.

As for Sacred 2, I bought the PC version on Steam around a month ago, but unlike the original Sacred and other fairly recent "Diablo clones" like the excellent Titan Quest + expansion, it unfortunately didn't manage to hold my attention for more than a few hours - although I won't entirely rule out I could feel tempted to give it another shot at some point.

"at the other end of the scale are the frustrating escort missions"

That's all I need to know.

Escort/protect missions are never ever fun and should be killed dead.

Despite the average scores I'm looking forward to this game, especially the coop.
Bit strange the review hasn't mentioned anything about the multiplayer aspect.

You can just spam potions, so your escort will never die. Healing yourself with a potion also heals your escort. Besides, they're all irrelevant sidemissions. Only time my escorts died is when I couldn't be arsed to do the quest and steered them deliberately into mobs to cancel that quest.

"The Seraphim's half-catwalk, half-post-enema strut[...]"

The mental image, like broken glass in my brain! XO

@UncleLou: It's quite sad to think that any game designer should think that's something players will enjoy in their game. To me the game looks like the team tried to catch up with the check marks on the back of the box rather than focussing on getting the actual game right. I ordered the game on Play.com when it cost a tenner, and I'm not even sure it's worth even that. In my book, seamless world and literally billions and billions of items don't necessarily make a great game. And that "Gary Glitter meets Barbie" approach on the character design, well...

So is this game like baldurs gate?... if so SOLD!

Back home over the summer nothing like a multiplayer hack and slash :D last year was champions of norrath and return to arms :D

I find it odd and rather disconcerting that a buggy mess such as this game still gets a 6. Devs don't need this kind of encouragement. I'll be happy to pay the money for a finished and polished game, but it seems i'm quickly becoming part of a minority. I guess we get what we deserve here.
O, and having played the PC version i can say that this game has nothing on it's competitors, unless a disjointed experience is your thing and immersion means nothing to you.

Thanks to all who mentioned the coop, and their impressions after playing.

I think I'm going to keep this on pre-order; hopefully the patch will be out soon so save corruptions will be fixed, this still sounds like it'll be a fun jaunt with the wife. :)

I want this game in my life.

This is a well written review Dan, but no mention of online coop? For shame. I know a bunch of people in the US who have been enjoying this title a lot online, which is really one of the biggest reasons for buying it.

I don't play co-op. There's a huge rpg-shaped hole in my life. I like BG (but PC not Xbox). Hack and slash can be good, as long as there is character within.

Do I buy this?

So, three times better than Darkfall then?

Edit: I just read the comment above. Funny how people compare Diablo, Sacred, etc. with Baldur's Gate. It's like asking: I adore soccer, should I start playing tennis?

They're talking about Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, a console hack and slash spin off last gen.

Unfortunately, they forget to add the "Dark Alliance" part, which makes it look like the original game.

Not really:

"Been playing this with my wife. It's almost like Baldur's gate on the PS2/XBOX1"

This is the gamefaqs.com Messageboard for the 360 version. Currently the board is ranked 4 on the top 10 wanted FAQs.

It is also stated on the board that most of the bugs can be avoided by simply installing the game on the harddrive. But of course Dan has already tried that in his utter brilliance, or not?

Was going to get this, then my copy of Demons Souls arrived today . . . . sorry Sacred 2, you lose.